Reference is made to our U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,495, whose contents are herein incorporated by reference, which describes an electrosurgical electrode for scierotherapy. The latter replaces an earlier form of sclerotherapy which involves introducing a sclerosing agent, be it physical, chemical or mechanical, into a vessel to produce sclerosis. The advantage of our patented electrosurgical electrode is that it enables physicians to offer to patients a treatment that is virtually non-invasive and non-surgical, efficiently performed, easily learned by the physician and thus performed at a significantly reduced price, and requiring less patient follow-up with superior results compared to non-electrosurgical procedures.
The common manner to implement this new procedure and in a sense a possible disadvantage is that the precise vein to be treated is first identified by placing the hollow needle of a hypodermic syringe into the skin/vein interface, and withdrawing the plunger. If blood is back drained into the syringe barrel, then the practitioner by viewing the blood knows the syringe needle is in the vein to be treated. Once the vein is thus identified, the needle is removed and the patented insulated needle electrode is placed carefully trying to locate the same needle or hole site formed by the syringe needle as well as depth location of where the vein was. This can be a difficult and tedious task and often results in losing the previously identified vein. The procedure then has to be repeated. The time necessary to find the correct vein can be consuming.